Doin' Time
by Y St. Ace
Summary: It was easy living at Arlong Park... (a pre-Luffy Nami story)


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A/N: Another messed up song-fic by yours truly. I devastated Sublime's Doin' Time; find the full lyrics at any handy lyric archive.

In no way am I suggesting that Arlong and Nami had anything other than a hate/hate relationship, though the choice of lyrics may imply other things. It's all metaphor – 100%. I wanted to use this song to highlight how much the fishmen really relied on Nami – whether they wanted to or not.

I should apologize to Nami for putting her back in Kokoyashi pre-Luffy, but life is dark and fan-fic is my flashlight.

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Doin' Time

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Summertime and the livin's easy - All the people in the dance will agree…

Kuroobi opened the main gate to Arlong Park, happy to be back where he belonged. He hated wasting his time on the vermin, but the first of the month was collection day and it was his turn to pick up the tribute that had been scraped together for the fishmen.

The monthly tribute had been Arlong's idea. He liked watching the humans scrabble from month to month and feel their desperation rise as the deadline loomed. He said it kept them busy. He didn't want the vermin getting any ideas.

Sunlight knifed into the open patio. It was mid-afternoon and everyone was taking it easy, lounging around, playing dice or cards, or just bull shitting. 

Life was good at Arlong Park.

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…we're gunna run to the party and dance to the rhythm. It gets harder…

Kuroobi walked over to the card table where Chu, Hachi, and Arlong were playing. The other fishmen that had been with him took the tribute away to be sorted and divvied up.

Arlong laid a card on the table then asked, "Did they give you any trouble?"

Kuroobi shrugged. "Same as usual. They mewled like kittens."

"You want in after this hand?" Chu asked.

"Nah." Kuroobi wasn't a gambler. He didn't see the point of it.

Nami slipped into the free chair before Kuroobi could sit down. "I'm up for some cards." 

"No," Hachi and Chu said automatically.

"When did you get here?" Kuroobi looked dourly at the human who had taken his seat.

"A little while ago." Nami turned her 100-watt smile on Hachi. "Just one hand,"she wheedled.

"Uh-uh," Chu said.

"You never let us win back our money," Hachi explained.

Arlong stared at his cards.

Nami batted her eyelashes at Hachi. "Please? You always let me play. Why are you being so mean now?"

A few minutes later, Chu was dealing a hand to Nami.

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Me and my girl we got this relationship I love her so bad but she treats me like shhh...

"Did you see them?" Hachi asked Nami.

"Hmm?" She arranged the cards in her hand, carefully deciding which one to play.

"The clothes."

"Yeah, I saw them." Nami pulled out a card and laid it face down. 

"Did you like them?" Six of Hachi's arms waved behind him – a nervous gesture that he'd never quite learned to control. It made him a horrible card player, though no one had bothered to inform him about his 'tell.' 

"They're fine. Another card please," Nami said. 

Kuroobi realized that Nami never said 'hit me' when asking for cards.

Hachi persisted. "But they fit? And the colors are okay? And – "

She flashed a quick smile to placate the fishman and quickly picked up the card Chu dealt her. "They're fine, Hacchan. I didn't look really closely. I'll make sure to try everything on when I go back up to my room."

"Oh. Okay." 

Nami fanned her cards out in her hand and held them out so everyone could see. "And I win." 

The fishmen fumed silently. It was chump change, but it still rankled to be beat by a human.

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All locked down like a penitentiary.

Arlong looked at Nami coolly while Chu shuffled. "You've got work upstairs. Go get on it." 

"We're in the middle of a game," she said petulantly. "Can't it wait a little while longer?"

Chu and Kuroobi exchanged looks. Waiting was not Arlong's forte. He had been making grand plans about expanding their circle of influence in East Blue – but they couldn't do that without new maps from their human.

"You had time enough for fun on your 'vacation.'" Arlong pulled the cards out of her hand. The wind caught them and blew them around the patio, ghosts playing tag.

"No reason to get testy." Nami stood up but headed in the opposite direction of her room.

"Where are you going?" Arlong snapped.

"To get something to eat."

"I'll have one of the guys bring you something." He pointed to the top of Arlong Park with his webbed hands. "Get to work."

Nami shrugged and strutted off. 

She spreads her lovin' all over and when she gets home there's none left for me.

Chu shook his head as he re-dealt the cards. "Humans." 

"What's she think – that her room and board is out of the kindness of our hearts?" Kuroobi muttered.

"She just got back, guys. She's probably tired," Hachi reminded them.

Arlong said nothing.

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Woman: So take this veil from off my eyes. My burning sun will some day rise.

Nami stepped into her room.

The fishmen had left her 'gifts' lying on her bed. She walked over and picked up an item of clothing. The material of the dress slipped through her fingers. No other girl on the island had a dress as nice as this one. But who cared what she looked like? Not one of those sharp-dressed fishmen outside – they thought checked shirts and plaid shorts were the be all and end all of fashion.

They would all go in the closet. She had tried to give some of her clothes away once, but no self-respecting girl from Kokoyashi wanted a handout from a pirate. Even Nojiko was reluctant to take anything. Her sister always came up with a reason, like it fit funny in the shoulders or wasn't her color. And just a few years ago, she and Nojiko had spent their free time with their noses pressed up against the windows of dress shops, gazing at the newest fashions…

Now she had everything money could buy. Nami looked at her desk and the sheaves of notes thrown carelessly onto it. Including, she thought ruefully, the best cartography materials this side of the Grandline.

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Evil Evil

Tension Tension

Hold her

Water

Evil

Come to tell you that she's evil

Most definitely

Kuroobi took Nami's place after she left, but his mind wasn't on the cards. He pursed his lips together. "Arlong - "

"'We can't trust her. She's bad news. She's forgetting her place,' " Chu droned. "Change the record, Kuroobi."

"I'm just saying – "

"Why are you worried?" Chu asked. "Afraid a human will get the better of you?"

"Watch it," Kuroobi said sharply, throwing Chu a dark look.

"I wonder what she didn't like. Maybe it was the pink shirt," Hachi said to himself.

Arlong abruptly threw his cards down and stalked inside.

Chu whistled lowly and muttered, "Someone's in trouble…"

Kuroobi hid his smile and they continued to play cards.

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Evil, ornery, scandalous, and evil - Most definitely.

Arlong had put Nami's room at the top of the tower for a few reasons. The climb gave him time to cool off and to think. If any of the fishmen had been giving him attitude like this, he would have blackened their eye, but humans were fragile – and Nami hadn't been frightened by physical threats for some time. She knew her importance; the fishmen were trapped without her maps.

She was working at her desk with her back to the door.

"You can put it over there." Nami turned slightly and saw that it was not dinner but Arlong. Unconcerned, she returned to her work. She dipped the quill end into the inkpot and traced the straight edge across the paper. "Yes?"

"You don't like Hachi's gift."

"And what if I don't?" The compass scratched a perfect circle in the corner of the paper.

The clothes strewn on the bed looked perfectly fine to him – and they had cost a lot of berii. "What's wrong with them?"

"They're tasteless." Nami turned in her chair and eyed Arlong's clothes, silently making her point. "From now on give me the money and let me buy my own clothes. It'll save me the trouble of returning them all."

His eyes narrowed. The cash would go right into her stockpile that he had yet to find. "How about you be properly grateful for what we give you?"

"I'm not a kid anymore," she retorted.

He stepped into the middle of the small room, his bulk making the small space even more claustrophobic. "You aren't, are you? But guess what? Adults have to pull their weight around here. Adults don't get to go off on little jaunts around the ocean whenever they feel like it. Adults do their jobs."

"Cartographers can't make maps without data. That's what my 'little jaunts' are." She picked up a scrap of paper from her desk and held it up "Look at that! You expect me to make a good map with that kind of information? Until one of those pirates out there learns the difference between north and south, I don't have a choice but to get my own facts."

"And I don't see _you_ else picking up a pen and paper," Nami added. "What would you know about what it takes to make a map?"

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The tension is growing hotter. I'd like to hold her head underwater.

Arlong grabbed her by the throat and pulled her out of the chair. His navigator choked silently, not bothering to struggle. One sharp squeeze and the human would die.

But then where would he and his crew be? Lost in East Blue, that's what. She knew it and watched with detached interest as he decided her fate.

Arlong slowly lowered her to the ground and loosened his grip, but he didn't let Nami go. He held her chin tightly and pulled her head up, making her look him in the eyes. "If you ever stop being useful…" 

She smirked back like a lazy Cheshire cat. "You'll feed me to the fishes?" 

He was a shark; his smile only had teeth. Time to dig a little deeper. "I don't think that orange grove of your sister's could make enough cash to support the both of you."

Her eyes widened. Satisfied that he had put a little fear back into her, Arlong let her go. 

"Someone will be up with your lunch. And your dinner and your breakfast. I don't want to see you until you have something to give me. Got it?"

She rubbed her throat and nodded.

"Good." He slammed the door behind him.

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Summertime and the livin's easy. All the people in the dance will agree…


End file.
